CHOON

Choon Unsigned – Younghusband

On all counts, Younghusband rock. If you’re a fan of laid back melodies, vocal harmonies, and pop hooks inter-laden with 90s post-grunge, then this lot are for you. If you like amplified anti-folk, thick with layers of luscious noise they’ve got that too. But most importantly they rock. They rock in that Weezer, Husker Du, High School prom music for intellectuals and music lovers as opposed to sweaty Seattle teens sort of way.

They are very much from the anonymous dress code, guitar slung low, nineties school of songwriting, and have no trouble in dressing twee pop songs up in rock clothing, reminiscent of early Blur and Teenage Fanclub.

Euan Hinshelwood started the band as a way of embellishing his anti-folk solo project, after previous outing indie-files The New Shapes had parted ways. The band also benefit from his hobby, as he spends his free time supplying guitar and backing vocals for Emmy The Great.

The band is still in its fledgling stages, but has already released an EP through Culture Deluxe, recorded a 6music session with Mark Reilly, and supported Eugene McGuiness. By now you have probably just missed their 24-date tour supporting Emmy The Great, but they will undoubtedly be propping up the bill at many a summer festival. They have shunned shoegaze in favour of creating a genre of their own, and I thoroughly recommend you get out and see their beautiful slices of folky-grunge-pop.

By Dean Renphrey